Dominic Edmunds is the super cool, tattoo loving founder and CEO of global technology company Sale Cycle, with offices in three continents and four countries; Washington DC, Paris, Singapore and the UK. Dom has built the company from the ground up and now employs over 130 staff worldwide. SaleCycle boast an enviable world class client list including Virgin Atlantic, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, IKEA, French Connection and more. Dom is a digital fanatic, a part time geek and a full time entrepreneur. In this episode we talk about: How Dom went from a junior designer (who had to virtually beg for a job), to CEO of a global technology company Importance of creativity in business How Dom has used and adapted his creativity flair to run and build his enterprise Tenacity, hard work, persistence and the value of achievement Read the magazine interview here: TECH FOUNDER & KING OF TENACITY: YOU GET WHAT YOU GIVE Subscribe Quotes I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s about no regrets, if I was to look back on this business having not made this move I would always wonder what we could have achieved I truly believe if you want something you’re the only person stopping yourself from getting it When you apply creative arts to non creative industries, you tend to find that you are the only person staring at an opportunity in the room – while everyone else is looking the other way at a problem Creativity is my hammer, and everything looks like a nail I want to bring creativity to everything I touch and see Write your own book, what about doing it your way. You don’t have to follow in everyone else’s footsteps I never want to see another Steve Jobs quote as long as I live If the day wasn’t going to be a challenge why on earth would you get out of bed Simplicity is another thing that’s helped guide my career. Keeping things simple is important. Very important The most exciting stages of the business were when everything was at risk If I see any type of problem I want to fix it I want to own it No man is an island and you can’t treat yourself as such I want to work with people who want to work with me Learning you have skill you were never taught, they’re just yours, they’re you, your character, your personality. Use them I never hire on CV. I’m a firm believer that attitude trumps aptitude Fear comes from not achieving my full potential No matter what the outcome is, put everything in, no regrets The moment you think you’ve got it licked, you haven’t. Anything that’s worth fighting for, you have to fight for It can be a very lonely place running a business I now approach each day as best I can without a to do list Strategy is the thing I enjoy the most Everyone has a strategy until they get punched in the face (Mike Tyson) Best laid plans will change If you’re going to lead a business, a key skill you need to have is flexibility I swear by Berocca You can be whatever the fuck you want be It may not be easy to get there, but if you don’t believe in yourself you certainly won’t get there It’s important to back yourself, support and go through the hardship Is there anything in life you’ve achieved that you haven’t looked back on and though that was worth the effort? If you don’t have to fight for it you don’t value it The only person stopping you is yourself Links & People Leighton: https://www.leighton.com/ Mark Haviland http://marketing.rakuten.fr/mark-haviland-1 Chris Sheen, Head of Marketing at SaleCyle Rachel Cook, Head of Talent at SaleCycle Elle MacPherson http://www.ellemacpherson.com/ Mike Tyson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson Berocca http://www.berocca.co.uk/ Darren Hall, CRO EMEA of SaleCycle Matt Cox, CRO US SaleCycle Sum41 http://www.sum41.com/ Affluenza https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affluenza Elon Musk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk Jeff Bezos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos Battery Ventures https://www.battery.com/ Mark Zuckerberg (who’s he?) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg Sanjit Atwal https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjit-atwal-22327424 Squawka http://www.squawka.com/ Time Stamped Notes 00:03:28 – Moving from the UK to Washington and sacrifice required from CEO 00:05:58 – Importance of tenacity to make opportunities for yourself 00:09:05 – How being a parent helps you in business 00:13:17 – On personal education and development outside of books 00:16:17 – On perception of money, work and career when growing up 00:21:01 – The importance of the ‘journey ‘ 00:23:16 – On what SaleCycle do and how the company formed in the first place 00:28:01 – On finding product market fit and proof of concept 00:31:26 – On importance of having support as a business owner 00:32:19 – Creativity and innovation among the business and company culture 00:38:06 – On how SaleCycle makes money 00:40:39 – On controversial decisions and risk 00:42:56 – What scares you most about what you’re doing? 00:45:55 – What personality trait do you deem to be your biggest flaw? 00:47:47 – On habits and experiences that have contributed to his success 00:52:39 – On strategy and direction 00:54:30 – On importance of flexibility as a leader 00:55:53 – Dom’s morning routine 00:58:37 – Dom’s idea of heaven 00:59:45 – What rule or conventional piece of wisdom do you disagree with? 01:01:30 – What Dom has had to rebel against to get to where he is today 01:02:05 – The education system and entrepreneurship 01:04:00 – (What’s your definition of entrepreneurship?) Having the conviction to see an idea through to completion 01:04:20 – On the importance of effort, and the concept of ‘Affluenza’ 01:05:43 – On how wealth and success shapes Dom The Rebel Wrap Up Round If you could go back to any point in your life, and have 1 hour with your past self; what moment would it be and what would you tell yourself? 01:07:31 – The moment I started the business. If I could go back to that point, I’d tell myself to be more confident. Sometimes you can be too cautious, whereas if you step confidently and believe in your own direction then you have the power to have a much greater impact on your business. The only person stopping you is yourself. If you could change one law what would it be? 01:08:14 – The entire American administrative system Who is the most disruptive, rebellious or revolutionary entrepreneur or creator of the last 2 years? 01:08:51 – Elon Musk What advice would you give to anyone listening to this who wants to become successful? 01:09:50 – Tenacity Who do you nominate to be a guest on the RebelHead Entrepreneurs podcast and can you sum them up in one word? 01:12:28 – Venture Capitalists, and ask how the corporate and creative worlds mesh. Also, Sanjit Atwal from Squawka. Subscribe
